Total pages in book: 90
Estimated words: 83368 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 417(@200wpm)___ 333(@250wpm)___ 278(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 83368 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 417(@200wpm)___ 333(@250wpm)___ 278(@300wpm)
Mila had always believed she’d never find love like that, but there was Hersch sitting beside her, his knee pressed against hers under the table where no one else could see it. She felt a warmth and connection with him that surprised her.
When they’d finished dinner, Betsy said, “All I have for dessert is a big tub of ice cream.”
Mila said, “Actually, Mom, I think Herschel is taking care of dessert.”
They all turned to him as though expecting him to run inside and bring out a big bakery box. Instead, he said, “Who wants s’mores?”
There was a burst of delighted laughter. Nick even looked up from his phone, where he’d been texting somebody, to say, “I haven’t had s’mores in years. Is this for real?”
Herschel nodded in his serious way. “I consider it one of my culinary specialties. Who wants s’mores?” he repeated. Every hand around the table went up. He said, “If you don’t mind, Howie, I’ll use the rest of your hot dog skewers.”
“Be my guest,” Howie said, clearly enjoying himself.
Mila went to the kitchen and brought out the graham crackers, Hershey’s chocolate bars, and marshmallows. He quietly got to work with the intense concentration he seemed to apply to everything while the family gathered around to watch.
Normally, they all would have roasted their own marshmallows, but there was something about the way Hersch operated that made it more fun to watch. Erin was the first to speak. “When I roast a marshmallow, it always catches fire. But you have this amazing ability to just brown the outside without the marshmallow either catching fire or falling off the stick.”
Without shifting his attention, he said, “It’s a simple matter of physics and thermodynamics.”
It was such a funny line—about s’mores—and yet, no one laughed because he was actually serious.
He slipped the first perfect marshmallow off the stick and onto a graham cracker on top of part of a candy bar, then another marshmallow and another piece of chocolate. He topped it all off with a second graham cracker. With careful precision, he pressed the two crackers together, and like magic, the marshmallow began to ooze and the chocolate to melt.
To Betsy, he said, “May I offer you the first one?”
“I’d be honored,” she said, equally formally, and then as they all watched, Betsy bit into it. She literally moaned with delight. “Honestly, Herschel,” she said after she finished a mouthful, “this is the best s’more I’ve ever eaten in my life.”
“I’m glad to hear it,” he replied. It didn’t seem to be the first time he’d received this very compliment. Tessa got the second s’more, and as full as Mila was from dinner, her mouth was watering by the time he passed her one. Soon, everyone was enjoying their dessert.
Finn had a smear of chocolate on his lip, and Tessa was licking marshmallow off her thumb when Archer asked, “Do they teach this in astronaut school? Because you’re the bomb at s’mores.”
“They do not. But like everything else, a decent s’more involves a healthy dose of science.”
No one was drunk, but there had been a few beers put away. Arch suddenly said, “Wait. If I’m going to play you in the biopic of your life, I need to shadow you. Herschel, you need to show me how to make a good s’more.”
Nick jumped up and yelled, “Screen test! Wait, let me get the camera.” He dashed into the house, no doubt to find the good old camcorder that the family had been using for years. All of them had smartphones that could have made a better recording, but there was something sentimental and nostalgic about that old camcorder. While he was gone, Mila realized there weren’t enough ingredients for everybody to get a second s’more, so she went back into the kitchen to get more supplies. Her mom followed her.
Betsy put on tea and coffee and said, “Honey, I’ve never seen you like this with a man. Herschel seems to fit right in with all of us. Do you think there’s a future there?”
Mila leaned against the fridge, her hands full of chocolate bars. “A few days ago, he was a maybe. But now, I get these visions of us. He’s inserting himself into my brain.”
Her mom nodded. Mila loved that Betsy didn’t put pressure on her kids. All she said was, “Thanks for telling me. You know I’m always here if you ever want to talk.”
“I know.”
They headed back out and handed Herschel the extra supplies. Then they all stood around, watching. Nick yelled, “Screen test for Herschel Greenfield and Archer Davenport.” Then he looked around at everyone. “What’s the title of the movie? Herschel Goes to Space…”
“And Comes Back,” Mila yelled.
Nick nodded. “Great title. Snappy. A blockbuster already. Okay. Herschel Goes to Space and Comes Back. Screen test with Archer Davenport. Take one.” And then he started the camcorder.